After adopting a WFPB diet, one of the things that I missed most was the deep-fried South Indian snacks. I have been experimenting these without oil for over 8 years. With about 90% success. But I was still not satisfied with the final outcome. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I found one of the recipes on the Sharan website. And was keen to try it out, which I did with alacrity. Unfortunately, even this was not satisfactory enough. But it was almost there. So, I tried one more modification and must admit that I achieved about 98% success.
When customising deep-fried snacks to oil-free, the ingredients tend to be a little different though the final taste is very close to the original. That’s because the grease has to be substituted with a WFPB alternative. As also ingredients to retain the ‘moisture’ content – so that the final baked product does not have too much of a dry mouth-feel. All real challenges. I am delighted that I was able to overcome these hurdles even though the search was long and hard.

Ingredients
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup Bengal gram flour (besan, kadalai mavu)
3/4 tsp coarsely ground pepper powder
1 tbsp coconut butter
1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing, perunkayam)
1 tbsp potato flour
1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust according to taste)
Salt to taste
Water as needed
Method
Add all the ingredients (except water) to a mixing bowl
Add water, a little at a time, to make a stiff dough
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C for 10 minutes
Line a baking tray with parchment paper
Fill the murukku press (using the ribbon pakoda plate) with the dough, small portions at a time
Press the dough on to the tray in straight strips, only single layers to ensure even cooking
Bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping over once mid-way
Store in an air-tight container
Consume as a tea-time snack or whenever the mood takes you
Enjoy!